Grant: Why the Twins did the Rangers a favor by beating them Sunday afternoon

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John F. Rhodes / Special Contributor/Special Contributor

Texas Rangers shortstop Luis Hernandez (3) blows a bubble in the rain during the second inning of a MLB baseball game between the Texas Rangers and the Minnesota Twins in Arlington, TX on Sunday, August 11, 2012.

Rangers are likely to face even more tests against aggressive Rays

ARLINGTON — With baseball’s hottest, most aggressive team — and also a very possible Division Series opponent — arriving in Arlington on Monday, the Minnesota Twins did the Rangers a solid on Sunday.

They gave the Rangers a dress rehearsal for what to expect from the Tampa Bay Rays offense.

In beating the Rangers 6-5, Minnesota placed a couple of excellent bunts, stole a base and pressed the issue on the bases. And while the Rays don’t offer the same speed atop the lineup as Minnesota’s duo of Denard Span and Ben Revere, they are fourth in the AL in bunt hits. They lead the AL in stolen base attempts. And they may lead the majors in baseball savvy when it comes to exploiting a weakness.

The Rangers “weakness” right now — if a team with the AL’s best record and winners of seven of the last nine games can have a weakness — is executing some defensive fundamentals like the rundown play.

Twice during the weekend the Rangers flubbed run-down plays between the bases. Both led to runs.

“We messed up a play,” manager Ron Washington said. “That was the difference.”

Both miscues started with the pitchers. In the third inning Sunday and with the score tied, Scott Feldman did what Roy Oswalt failed to do Friday. He fielded a grounder and ran straight at the runner, Ben Revere, who was caught too far off second. Feldman intercepted Revere’s path and made him commit to going back to second before he flipped the ball a little too softly to shortstop Luis Hernandez.

But it took Feldman a second or two to extricate himself from the line of the throw. Hernandez double-pumped. The extra time brought third baseman Adrian Beltre and Revere quite close together. When Beltre received the ball, he had to swipe quickly at the runner, rather than being directly in front of him to make a safer tag.

The ball spilled out of Beltre’s glove. Revere scampered to third, then scored on a soft sacrifice fly. It gave the Twins a 3-2 lead.

“It was a hairy play,” Washington said. “Maybe Beltre got a little too close. He did what he had to do there to try and get an out. It didn’t happen. That was the only thing that we didn’t execute defensively today. They did the rest. You have to tip your hat to them.”

The Twins eventually built it to 6-2 with bunt singles being keys to two additional rallies before homers by Josh Hamilton and Nelson Cruz cut it to a one-run game.

Revere dropped a bunt up the first base line in the fifth that fell perfectly into “no-man’s land.” It forced Mitch Moreland to vacate the base and Ian Kinsler to break to first too late to get an out. Moreland and starter Scott Feldman discussed the play between innings in case Minnesota tried it again, which the Twins, sure enough, did. With two outs in the sixth, Span dropped a similar bunt. Feldman chased it down along the line and tried to pick and backhand flip it in one motion. On a rain-slickened turf and running at full speed, he never even fielded it cleanly. Span scored when Revere tripled.

“Those two guys are going to keep you on your toes,” Moreland said. “They make things happen. It keeps you ready to go, so it’s always good to have some games with a team like that.”

After the game, Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire noted that the way the grass is cut in Arlington makes it perfect for holding bunts. That’s almost certain to be noted in the Rays’ scouting report.

It doesn’t worry Washington.

“We’re not worried about Tampa Bay,” he said. “Minnesota executed. If Tampa Bay executes and beats us, they then they beat us. But we’ve beaten Tampa Bay, too.”

Catch Evan Grant’s Ranger Reports all season on The Ticket (KTCK-AM 1310) at 2:35 p.m. Mondays with BaD Radio; 9:35 a.m. Tuesdays with The Musers and Thursdays at 4:15 p.m. with The Hardline.

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